Since Kenny Atkinson and the Brooklyn Nets mutually parted ways, more than a few names have been thrown around as potential candidates for the franchise’s head coaching position. Although Jacque Vaughn holds the mantle heading into the Disney World bubble, the team has only guaranteed he will be the head coach through the rest of 2019-20.
Now, plenty of recognizable individuals have been brought up, but there’s one that’s much more accomplished than the rest: Gregg Popovich,
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was the one to throw the San Antonio Spurs head coach’s name in the mix, but there’s been no word about the idea since. Not until Nets general manager Sean Marks was asked about the possibility on WFAN’s Joe & Evan on Friday:
Pop has a job. So I will say that. And, obviously, we all know he’s an amazing, amazing coach — and to be quite frank, an even better leader. So I’ll let Pop continue to coach for the Spurs. He owes it to them and they owe it to him. I’m sure he’s quite happy there.
Although Marks added Popovich “does like New York,” it seems like the coaching legend isn’t bound for Brooklyn.
For now, the Nets have the search on hold. With everything that’s gone on since the start of the league’s hiatus, Marks is more focused on the team getting ready for the resumption of 2019-20.
But when he gets back to the head coaching search, Marks intends to talk to Brooklyn’s “key players” about who will run the show next. And he specifically mentioned Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving when addressing the matter on WFAN:
It would be probably, you know, not incredibly smart of us if we did not involve some of these key players in this decision. That only goes to Kevin, I think it’s — you know, Kevin and Kyrie, we’re gonna pick their brains on what they are looking for in a leader, what they want in a coach, what they need. I think these guys have been brutally honest so far.